1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system manufacture, and more particularly to a system and method for configuring a configurable product, such as an information handling system.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Configurable manufacture or supply of information handling systems offers end users unprecedented control over the components used to build their systems. Generally, an end user is presented with a variety of component choices from which the end user selects desired components. The information handling system ordered by the end user is built from or modified to include components selected by the end user and then provided to the end user. This configurability of information handling systems provides end users with flexibility to acquire information handling systems to meet desired performance and cost goals. For example, an enterprise might order one type of system for administrative help that uses lower cost components capable of running office applications and another type of system for engineers that uses more expensive components capable of running engineering applications. Typical component selections made by an end user include the main processor, the amount of memory, the hard disk drive storage capacity or speed, the graphics processor capability, the housing size and characteristics, the battery capacity, the operating system, software applications and a variety of other parameters. After end user selection of desired components, the ordered configuration of components can be forwarded to a manufacture facility for assembly or otherwise finally assembled for the end user.
Although configurability offers end users greater flexibility, the presentation of component choices to the end user can involve considerable complexity. In general, a multitude of component types and component manufacturers are available for the assembly of information handling systems, however, not all components interoperate in an ideally-compatible manner. As an example, a highly-capable processor may operate at only a fraction of its capability when an inadequate amount of memory is present. As another example, high-end central and graphics processing components tend to generate more heat than lower end components thus requiring greater cooling capacity. A failure to include adequate cooling capacity can result in throttling of processing components so that system performance falls below end user expectations. To ensure the compatibility of components presented to end users, manufacturers typically offer a variety of chassis models for the end user to make an initial product type selection and then limit choices of components within a selected product type chassis model to a set of compatible components. One difficulty with this approach is that an end user seeking a particular component may select a chassis model type that does not include the sought component as a choice available for selection. Another difficulty with this approach is that an end user may select components for a chassis model type that would better interact in a different chassis model type. Further, an end user may select a product type without fully understanding all the component choices or features they provide.